An election up in the air

The idea that the nation would have a definitive result by the end of election night – or even when waking up the next morning – was too good to be true.

Since election night on Tues. Nov. 3, 2020 the two major party candidates for the United States Presidential election (President Donald Trump (Republican) and former Vice President Joe Biden (Democrat)) have had a close race – that is yet to be determined. Forecasts for swing states, including our very own Texas, fell by the wayside as election day votes rolled in and mail-in ballots were processed and counted.

The following electoral count is not official, as votes are still being counted and The Associated Press has not called a definitive winner.

By Wednesday evening, on Nov. 4, Biden had 264 electoral votes – just six shy of the necessary 270 to be named president. Trump trailed with 214 electoral votes, making this race far closer than that of 2016, in which he won 304 electoral votes in the first night of the process (though he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton).

Trump took Texas, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Montana, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia.

Biden took Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Delaware and the District of Columbia.

States still counting votes on Thursday include Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia, Alaska and North Carolina. It was announced on Wednesday that Biden has received the most votes ever cast for a presidential history, with 70,470,207 votes (just over 50 percent) and counting.

Final counts are not estimated to be called until the end of the week.